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Publisher's Summary

The story of a student who went to extraordinary lengths - including living in a van on a campus parking lot - to complete his education without sacrificing his financial future. In a frank and self-deprecating voice, memoirist Ken Ilgunas writes about the existential terror of graduating from college with $32,000 in student debt. Inspired by Thoreau, Ilgunas set himself a mission: get out of debt as soon as humanly possible. To that end, he undertook an extraordinary 3-year transcontinental journey, driving to Alaska and taking a series of low-paying jobs. Debt-free, Ilgunas then enrolled himself in a master's program at Duke University, using the last of his savings to buy himself a used Econoline, his new "dorm." The van, stationed in a campus parking lot, would be an adventure, a challenge, a test of his limits. It would be, in short, his "Walden on Wheels."Ilgunas went public in a widely read Salon article that spoke to the urgent student debt situation in America today. He offers a funny and pointed perspective on the dilemma faced by those who seek an education but who also want to, as Thoreau wrote, "live deep and suck out all the marrow of life."

Here, Ken Ilgunas recounts his adventures as he seeks to pay off his undergraduate debts in the first part of the book, and, in the second, how he lived in order to secure his post-graduate degree at Duke University. This book appealed because I have my own unsecured debts, and a desire to return to university.

Although this book lived up to its synopsis, it was not exactly what I hoped it might be, but it though Mr Ilgunas's experiences did provide food for thought, though I now realise I could not follow in his footsteps.

Ken Ilgunas worked in in a remote outpost in Alaska to pay off his original college debt, then undertook a canoe journey with a group seeking to replicate the experience of the Canadian voyageurs of the 18th and 19th centuries; before doing his post-graduate degree all without going back into debt.

Although there are some interesting anecdotes about the adventures, and details of his budgets are provided, overall, I was not overly enthused by this book. Some sections I felt I was being preached to,in others, the narration became too wordy in describing feelings about places and/or people. As much as it appeared Ken Ilgunas went into detail, I’m not sure I really know just how he did cope on a day-to-day level under the strict, self-imposed budgetary, and living conditions; I always had the feeling something was missing from these recollections.

The author seems to berate the normal path people take through life, consisting of (in his opinion) getting and education, working in a job they may dislike to paying off the debts they accrue getting that education, getting a mortgage, continuing to work in a job they dislike to pay off the mortgage and other consumer debts, then retiring without having really lived. It’s a point-of-view held by many who seek the simpler life, but others may disagree believing it is more about “dropping out” of humanity, something which Ken’s mother hints at in the book.

The narration by Nick Podehl was quite well done, though I did query the pronunciation of some words, but this might have been accounted for by the difference between American and UK English. The audio edition I downloaded from Audible was crisp, clear and without any faults.

I would recommend this to anyone contemplating university via student loans, but I'm not sure it would be all that helpful to those that do want to take the corporate path.

The first half of the book is great -- I loved it, hung on his every word. He's making great points -- kids are burdening themselves with tens of thousands of dollars in student loans, spent on earning college degrees which have no economic value. For most, they will be stuck with these loans and huge interest repayments well into middle age -- and with little real benefit. That's an excellent point, and because Ilgunas' writing style is both addictive and fascinating, it's a great listen. It's like he's talking directly to you, telling you how he got himself into that mess, and how he plans to get out.

Special kudos to narrator Nick Podehl -- the perfect voice for this book. I had to check to see if the author himself was narrating, but no. It's just very well done indeed!

But then you come to the second half....... like all converts to a new lifestyle, Ilgunas decides that what he was forced to do to repay his loans -- extreme off-the-chart thrift and Alaskan wilderness-wandering to save money -- is something that everyone should do. Must do. In fact, in everyone did it, it would cure society's ills.

His notion that everyone should take time to live alone in the Alaskan wilderness -- a much, much colder Walden Pond experience -- is that it would help people refine their life priorities and make them less vulnerable to the world of consumerism. (Ilgunas doesn't delve into the mechanics of how having "everyone" retreat to the Alaskan wilderness alone would actually work out, land-and-space wise, but he's in favor of it, anyway.) Then, without taking a breath, he goes on to pontificate about the need for maintaining -- presumably at taxpayer expense -- world-wide wilderness, so that all this would be possible. And what about the people who are too "infirm" to do such a thing? He implies there would be only a few, but for those, just the idea that the wilderness exists would be enough for them to want to pay for it.

Hypocrisy reigns. In the process of ranting against organized society in general, Ilgunas decries how society "spoiled" the pristine beauty of northern New York, building communities like the one he himself grew up in -- where he still lives, in fact, as a 23-year old moocher off his parents, eating their food, tapping regularly (if reluctantly) into his mothers bank account. All the while, he ridicules the mundane life of those who work at regular jobs to pay for mortgages, who maintain restricting ties to family and friends -- when they could be out exploring the wilderness, finding their "wild" selves. In short, Ilgunas comes off as a quasi-nutcase in his fervor for his new lifestyle.

If there is an upside to that -- I came within a hair of quitting the book, in the midst of all that self-serving arrogant nonsense -- it's that at the end of the book he admits his own hypocrisy. At least he has the capacity for honesty. In that sense, it's a better book than Barbara Ehrenreich's "Nickled and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America", which has a somewhat similar theme. Both books are fascinating reading, the tales of bleak poverty and extreme making-do, but Ehrenreich is much more strident in advocating her solutions. At least Ilgunas maintains a smidgen of humility.

But here's the bottom line about Ilgunas: in his unbridled passion for extreme penury -- living in a toilet-free van, peeing into a bottle, discarding waste "behind a tree", fretting over a mouse eating his food -- a life in which he literally obsesses over every cent he earns and spends, he's really no different than the people he despises so much, those who are consumed with acquiring. Whether one's obsession is doing without, or with acquiring more, one is still spending one's life consumed with THINGS.

Somehow I don't think that's what he intended.

35 of 36 people found this review helpful

Mr.

Panama City, FL, United States

27/06/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"College humor and philosophy but a fun read"

Ken is a very good writer. He is the kind of person who can take a very ordinary situation and make it funny and entertaining. Ken's situations through college and the after years were very common.. Probably tens if not hundreds of thousands of students had more interesting lives and stories. Yet he was able to consistently write about these circumstances in such a way that I laughed about them throughout the entire book. His attempts at expounding on life got a bit much but they were overall brief so they were tolerable. Overall I enjoyed his book and would read more of his work.

15 of 15 people found this review helpful

Gypsyjolie

Madison, WI, United States

22/02/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"the author had little wisdom to share"

Not a guide to living frugally (as I had hoped), this is the memoir of a college student that awakens to his plight of being heavily indebted for student loans but with little tolerance for office jobs. Ken is engaging and interesting but definitely a bit unusual. The length he goes to to get solitary jobs in the great outdoors and in Alaska to pay off his debt show a penchant for isolation and rigid self-control. He talks of living a simpler life but most of us are not willing to live in such isolation, eating only subsistence foods (peanut butter spaghetti stew, anyone?), living without necessities like a winter coat or heat in winter. Ken gets awfully preachy and overly philosophical in between anecdotes, to the point where it sounds like he is trying elevate his choices to a greater philosophical meaning that I am not sure even Ken believes. It loses its edge of truth.

Interesting, sometimes tedious, offbeat memoir, but I don't think his lessons will last in my mind other than his valid warning about not accruing mindless debt.

37 of 46 people found this review helpful

Daryl

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

20/05/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"I loved this book!"

If you could sum up Walden on Wheels in three words, what would they be?

Engaging, self-depricating, wonderful!

Which character – as performed by Nick Podehl – was your favorite?

I don't have one... but his narration was impressive! I wish he narrated more books that interest me; he is such a talent!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Ken's work in Alaska and Mississippi, his fear and dread about his debt.

Any additional comments?

This book should be required reading for any high school student headed off to college. Debt - both student debt and consumer debt - is at critical levels both in Canada and the USA. While Ken does not romanticize many of his actions, he is frank about the dread of being $32,000 in student debt. With a bit of luck and a spirit of wanderlust, he was able to pay it all off in a few short years, and still go to grad school debt-free. He grows up considerably in his mid-twenties, and I can't wait to see where the next few years lead him.

9 of 11 people found this review helpful

Shawn

GOODVIEW, VA, United States

10/01/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Interesting, entertaining, and inspiring."

Would you listen to Walden on Wheels again? Why?

Yes. I found the book to be very entertaining. The narrator did a great job, and the material itself was very enjoyable to listen to.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Walden on Wheels?

The entire first half of the book was entertaining and very memorable.

Which character – as performed by Nick Podehl – was your favorite?

Ken, without a doubt.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Sure! I enjoyed every minute of it.

7 of 9 people found this review helpful

matthew

san diego, CA, United States

31/05/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"A delightful foray into simple freedom"

The first half of the book is about a young college students pursuit of a less than ordinary life after plunging into significant debt.He has some great ideas and moves to Alaska for a summer,where he works for small money,but has a free accommodation.He manages to fulfill his travel lust and pay down his loan with a year of work there.His cohorts were not the pillars of society,but he stuck it out and paid down his debt.Next he goes to Mississippi to work for the forest service.Again he meets lots of strange people.Except for one special girl.The two of them fall in love and when work is up after the second round of 3 month stints they hitchhike to his parents home in Niagara Falls,New York over the course of a month.The author having read Theroeau decides to return to graduate school and is accepted at Duke.Having paid off his debt completely after a second summer working a pretty good job for the parks service in Alaska.He decides he will live in an inexpensive van so as not to incur additional debt.He manages to keep this a secret for two years.In one of his final courses on creative writing he reveals his secret in a paper.The professor recommends he publish the well written paper.He even gets a three year writing job offer from a magazine which he declines.He seemed to have learned a great deal from this arduous living and there are many other moments I have left out here.Buy the book and support this guy.I realize I am perhaps a fellow misanthrope like the author I too have been trying to discover and alternate kind of happiness living abroad for the last 4 years.

12 of 16 people found this review helpful

Yennta

L.A., CA

04/09/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Yeah, LOVED it. Honest. Adventurous. Fascinating."

Great true story. Starts off a little lame, with some corny, hackneyed jokey stuff, but don't be put off. It gets better and better and better. Really takes you into his life, feelings, relationships, and you get to experience with him the kind of life you sometimes imagine you could live. Adventurous, remarkable fellow and a fine writer.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

K. Jackson

Everett, WA United States

20/04/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Absolutely hilarious, inspiration without schmalz"

This audiobook had me hooked from the start, and I listened to it almost nonstop within a day. It is full of laugh-out-loud self-deprecating humor, woven in with the wisdom that comes from living an authentic and principled life. I am decades older than the author, but still paying off student loans and facing various financial nightmares. Like many of my generation, my financial life is far from what I had imagined it would be. This book was a welcome reminder that there are many ways to find meaning and adventure in life, and that financial security is not the only measure of success.

The narrator is excellent; it's easy to imagine that it was actually the author telling the story. He was skilled in altering his voice to portray a variety of people, with great comic effect. I am sure that I will listen to this book again at some point in time.

7 of 10 people found this review helpful

gzl5ry

Oakland, MI, United States

29/07/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"Fantastic Book!"

What made the experience of listening to Walden on Wheels the most enjoyable?

I loved a lot about it. I could appreciate Ken's passion about paying off his student loans, about not wanting to live in debt, his frustration over the job market and the passion with which he came to embrace the wild. He has a tremendous amount of passion for life.

What other book might you compare Walden on Wheels to and why?

None that I can think of. I never read Walden so I can't make that comparison. Maybe I will read it now.

What does Nick Podehl bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I thought he read it very well. He's a little weak on female voices but overall he was smooth and brought out the emotions felt by Ken, his buddy, his mother and so on. Good choice to read the book.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The entire book was enjoyable, can't think of any particularly dull moments.

Any additional comments?

Great book and I highly recommend it.

7 of 11 people found this review helpful

Kathrin

Greenville SC

01/01/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Good Story, but a lot of Fluff"

The author has a great story that it worth telling and worth reading.

I personally got more aggravated the more I read.

My biggest criticism about this book would be the fluff in the story. I think the book could be cut in half and would be twice as good. There are just too many side stories, factoids and endless descriptions that don't support the narrative.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

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